No shortage of questions for Raptors

There was a certain ridiculousness that surrounded the Toronto Raptors as the team’s players and head coach went through their final meetings with the media on Thursday.

The team’s ownership is in flux, with the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan looking to divest itself of its majority share in Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. Raptors president and general Bryan Colangelo is without a contract after June, and there have been reports that a new deal is being held up by a MLSE board member. And a lockout awaits July 1. To address the small-picture stuff — individual player development, defensive concepts, the contractual status of players and coaches alike — is kind of difficult when so many big-picture situations remain unresolved.
“I’m going to spend more time answering this question than I have thinking about what you just said,” Raptors coach Jay Triano said of his expiring contract. “How’s that for starters?”

It might skirt the issue of his status, but it is legitimate. While Triano spoke for more than half an hour about the team’s plethora of concerns following a 22-60, most of it was just assessment and theories. Even when Colangelo speaks to the media Monday, little of what he says will be truly conclusive.

Still, there was plenty to take away from the Raptors’ comments on Thursday.

• The Raptors were abysmal defensively again this year, finishing 26th in points allowed, 29th in opponents’ field-goal percentage and last in points allowed per 100 possessions. The result might have been even more disappointing than last year, as increased athleticism was supposed to help Toronto on that end.

“They will get better because of the experience,” Triano said. “But to get better drastically the way that we have to, we’ll have to have a better system in place and better defensive players.”

• Andrea Bargnani is a large part of those struggles. He was the team’s leading scorer, but continued to regress defensively and on the glass. There is some thought that after five years with the Raptors, this is who Bargnani is, and there is no room for improvement.

“It’s much more difficult to do the things on the offensive end, so you’ve just got to be focused. It’s an effort thing,” Bargnani said of his defence, chastising himself. “I do things that are much more complicated than getting rebounds and playing defence. That should be the easy part.”

• If Bargnani was hard on himself, he wasn’t alone. “The good teams have that anchor back there. He’s got to become that for us,” Triano said. “Is it asking a home-run hitter to bunt? Possibly. But [Bargnani has] to have that part of the game, he’s got to add that if we’re going to be successful.”

That seems like wishful thinking. “If we could get a veteran big [man] down there that can play down in the paint, can be a presence there, that could definitely help us on the defensive end,” swingman DeMar DeRozan said.

• The players who spoke were uniformly positive about the job Triano did with an injury-riddled roster that was not that impressive even assuming full health. Triano did not bite on whether he has discussed his deal with Colangelo, but stated his desire to be back for a fourth season as head coach, which would be his third with the interim tag removed.

“I don’t think anybody wants to raise kids for two years and then put them up for adoption,” Triano said. “I think we have a great thing going with the young players, with their attitude, with the way they respond to the coaches, with the way our coaches respond to them. And I want to be part of that and grow with these players.”

• A large part of the Raptors’ core is under contract for next season, whenever that happens. Bargnani, DeRozan, Jose Calderon, Jerryd Bayless, Ed Davis, Amir Johnson, Linas Kleiza and James Johnson all have deals that include the 2011-12 season.

Of the rotation players, only Sonny Weems and Reggie Evans do not. Weems would seem to be on his way out, due to the fact that he duplicates, with less efficiency, what DeRozan does on the floor. Evans, though, gives the Raptors two things they are in short supply of: a brilliant rebounder and veteran experience. But with Bargnani, Davis and Amir Johnson under contract, there simply does not seem to be much room at power forward. Evans said he has grown to like his role as a veteran leader and would like to come back.

“I like Reggie, yes. I told him that I would like to see him back,” Triano said. “I know that in this business things happen, he could be offered a lot of money to go somewhere else, he could want to play somewhere else. I think he likes the city. I thought he really embraced the role of being a leader for our younger players.”

From the Lip

JAY TRIANO

On the positives of a poor season “All I can say is that the way things transpired this year, had we gone out and just maybe overachieved and maybe had 10 more wins, we wouldn’t be in the position we are right now to have a very good draft pick coming our way. We wouldn’t be in the position where we are right now to have money under the salary cap.”

On the development of Andrea Bargnani “He can find a way to score 20 points [per game]. [But do] you want to score 20 points and have 22 wins? He doesn’t. Hopefully that becomes the motivation that gets him. If not, I think the young players that have started to develop behind him are going to start eating into playoff time. And I think playoff time is probably one of the greatest motivations.”

DeMAR DeROZAN

On his second season “I think I just had a chip on my shoulder. I just wanted to prove a lot of stuff, prove I can be one of the top players in this league … It just seemed like I was under the radar with a lot of stuff. I just wanted to work hard and show people I could play.”

On the Raptors’ youth “Twenty-two wins is not a really positive season. But you can take the positive out of it … The opportunity that we got for our young guys to continue to grow, including myself, is definitely going to pay dividends. You look at Oklahoma City or Portland before I got there, they let their young guys grow. Now you see where they’re at and the step they took.”

JOSE CALDERON

On 22 wins “I feel pretty comfortable with the future, with the young guys and the way they’re improving, learning. But I’m not comfortable because we just won 22. I cannot go home and be happy about it. I’m really frustrated. I don’t like this kind of end. Now we’re trying to be positive after it happens. We’re not happy with 22 wins and 60 losses for sure. I hate that.”

LEANDRO BARBOSA

On the possiblity of a lockout “If it really happens, the lockout, I’m going to rest and be on the beach. To be honest, I’m going to be on the beach with my family, with my daughter. If it’s the whole season, I’ll probably play a little bit in Brazil, my country, to help basketball get bigger. That’s what I’m planning to do. We’ll see. I don’t think it’s going to be a long lockout. But if it’s going to be a long one, I need the rest.”

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